Potemkin Metropolis I will Learn to Love You

by mr

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11/05/2012 – 11/06/2012, Singapore

Singapore is a country / a city of no contradictions. Everything is working, and everyone is happy. Somehow it reminded me on ”Logan’s Run” – sf movie from 1967. Here are some narratives and facts surrounding Singapore:

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– Singapore is among the 20 smallest countries in the world, with a total land area of only 682.7 square kilometers.

– Chewing gum sales is forbidden in Singapore.

– The first population census taken in 1824 revealed that the total population was 10,683. The 2011 official estimate showed that the population of Singapore is 5.1 million.

– Prostitution in Singapore is legal. Pornography is strictly prohibited in Singapore.

– The main religions of Singapore are Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Taoism and Hinduism.

– Singapore law criminalizes sex between mutually consenting adult men.

– Singapore’s residents are mainly descendants of immigrants from the Malay Peninsula, China and the Indian sub-continent.

– Singapore has the most millionaires per capita 17.1% (188,000) of any country in the world.

– Singapore’s land area has grown from 581.5 km² in the 1960s to 723.2 km² today, and may grow by another 100 km² by 2033.

– Singapore’s “resistance” to malaria is a result of urban development and the continued failure of the local anopheline mosquitoes to adapt to a more urban environment (unlike the very successful Aedes mosquito)

– The World Health Organization ranks Singapore’s healthcare system as 6th overall in the world in its World Health Report.

– Death for drug traffickers under Singaporean law.

– Section 17 of the Misuse of Drugs Act lists the amount of controlled drugs beyond which, the person who carries them shall be presumed to possess them for the purpose of drug trafficking unless proven otherwise: …cannabis: 15 grams…

– The crime rate in Singapore is one of the lowest in the world.

– The Singaporean army, which is today considered one of the strongest in southeast Asia, was set up by Israel.

– Singapore is a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, with stable prices, and a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries.

– Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, 16 September 1923), GCMG, CH, is a Singaporean politician. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades. He is also widely recognized as the founding father of modern Singapore.

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Discussion on Singapore:

Koolhaas, Rem (1995). “Singapore Songlines”. S, M, L, Xl (Rotterdam: OMA): 1009–1089.

William Gibson, “Disneyland with the Death Penalty” at Wired.com

“What is Authenticity? Singapore as Potemkin Metropolis” a response to Gibson and Koolhaas by Tang Weng Hong

foto: miro roman